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Whitmer signs budget w $7 billion surplus, vetoes abortion language

NPR

Governor Gretchen Whitmer was in Detroit today to sign the final bill in the new state budget. She also made some line-item vetoes that highlight differences with Republican leaders on abortion.

Whitmer used line-item vetoes to strike funds for pregnancy centers and other programs that steer women away from abortion. She says some of the lines were unconstitutional.

“There are a number of things that were unenforceable in the budget. There were a number of items upon which we didn’t agree, but I don’t think there are any surprises there.”

Governor Whitmer and the Legislature’s GOP leaders are also on opposite sides in court cases litigating abortion rights in the state. Abortion remains legal in Michigan under a Court of Claims order that put a hold on a 1931 state law that bans abortion. Whitmer has also asked the Michigan Supreme Court to rule that abortion rights are protected by the state constitution.

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